Philadelphia finishing plan for wireless Internet access

Published: Wednesday, January 19, 2005

MICHAEL RUBINKAMAssociated Press Writer

PHILADELPHIA (AP)  The city is putting the finishing touches on an ambitious plan to offer a mix of free and low-cost wireless Internet access by the summer of 2006 that proponents say will help bridge the "digital divide" that separates rich from poor.

On Tuesday, Chief Information Officer Dianah Neff provided the outlines of what would be the nation's largest publicly available Wi-Fi hotspot, covering all of the city's 135 square miles.

The service will be offered for free in public parks and at a steeply discounted rate to low-income residents, Neff said from Cambridge, Mass., where she was attending a conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Businesses and other residents will pay more for the service but still get "broadband speeds at dial-up rates," she said.

Neff said a public-private partnership of a kind "we haven't seen before" will run the service, which is expected to break even within four years. She declined to be more specific, saying Mayor John Street would announce details of a financial plan for the service Feb. 7.

Dozens of cities and towns nationwide have either begun or announced similar plans, but Philadelphia's would be the largest for public use.

"Everybody is watching Philadelphia," said Frank Hanzlik, managing director of Wi-Fi Alliance, an industry group. "This is something that hasn't been done before, at least not on this scale."

Regional and long-distance telephone companies that sell broadband Internet to consumers and businesses have lobbied for laws to regulate or bar such municipal competition, but Philadelphia and Verizon Communications Inc., the dominant local telephone carrier, struck an agreement last November to allow the city to proceed.

However, under legislation signed by Gov. Ed Rendell, all other municipalities in the state would have to get permission of the local telephone company to provide broadband or any other telecommunications service. If the company rejects the plan, it would have to offer a similar service within 14 months.

Neff said Philadelphia's service will offer upload and download speeds of 1 megabit per second, nearly 18 times faster than dial-up. In early March, the city will ask companies to submit proposals to build and run the wireless network, which is expected to cost $10.5 million to erect.

"It's an incredible program that has potential to do so much good," Neff said. "That is the whole crux of doing Wireless Philadelphia. It's not just the infrastructure, it's the good that comes out of it."